Re: [Harp-L] Re: Bass Harmonica - advice

michael rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx> · Sun, 3 Jul 2011 18:31:03 -0500

Thanks Vern!

On Sun, Jul 3, 2011 at 4:32 PM, Filip Jers <filip.jers@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi
>
> I have played bass harmonica for 3 years, and played harmonica for harmonica (diatonic) for 10 years.
> The bass harp is a tough beast to master, but its very nice if one does. I am working on it a lot.
>
> I started playing cello when I was 8, then i played bass part in school orchestras and read music on F-clav.
> I also played electric bass for several years, jazz, pop, rock.
>
> I learned all the bass harps things I know, by myself. If you read music its great to check out beginners electric bass books,
> there you learn the fundementals of how to act as a bass musician in different situations. How to use notes and which. There
> are tones of books availeble.
>
> Technical aspect of bass harmonica is pretty complex. Since its only played on blowing, we harmonica players have to get used to that.
> Its good to use a lot of air and to play soft, and use a good microphone when you play live so you dont have to blow so hard. The instruments
> works best with "medium type" of airstream. Always blow some air, like half a second before you plan the note to come. Its a big experience to learn when
> the notes comes out on this instrument. The metronome is a good friend.
>
> Check my myspace, http://www.myspace.com/filipjers, on the song "Rosa Da noite" and in a video in the end of the page I play bass harp.
>
> There is a great bass harmonica player from Finland, called Pasi Leno. He plays in a band called "Sväng".
> Pasi is the best contemporary bass harmonica player I have heard on live gigs and records.
>
> Here is a link to youtube clip where I play some solo bass harmonica on a live gig
>
> http://youtu.be/AMqaIM1VCRI
>
> All the best and good luck
>
> / Filip Jers
>
>
>
> 3 jul 2011 kl. 00.55 skrev michael rubin:
>
>> I have been playing bass harp for around 4 years.  It is conceptually
>> easy, difficult to play well.  I ran a harp band and learned a lot.
>> For the last three months I have joined a band that plays East
>> European music with banjo, flute, accordion, trombone, flute and
>> vocals.  Some of the music is fast and furious.  I joined them during
>> SOuth by Southwest in Austin and therefore had to learn 30 songs in
>> less than a week for around 8 gigs right away.  We have been playing
>> around two shows a week since then.  I can say for sure that trial by
>> fire has been the best method for learning and my playing has improved
>> more in three months than in all four years prior to that.
>>
>> For amplification I use Richard Smith's Harmonix pickup which took
>> lots of tweaking to work well.  Since Richard lives in England, it was
>> hard to find machinists in Austin to take on the job of really making
>> it work, plus the original item was expensive and you have to live
>> without your harp for months while he implants the picks into your
>> harp.  If I had two thousand dollars lying around I would buy a Suzuki
>> Bass and pickup, both semen great.
>>
>> I teach bass harp by Skype.  Although I am not one of the world's best
>> bass players, I am an experienced teacher who understands what the of
>> a bass player.
>>
>> Contact me off list if you are interested.
>> Michael Rubin
>> Michaelrubinharmonica.com
>>
>> On Friday, July 1, 2011, Maka McMahon <makamcmahon@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> &gt; Blunt,
>> &gt;
>> &gt; There's not much around for the Bass harp.  The Smith's book is
>> the easiest to get hold of - one of the specialist music stores still
>> sells it (Google should find which one - my memory is not helping
>> today).
>> &gt;
>> &gt; I went cheap to start with as I wasn't sure how useful the Bass
>> would be. I've got a Swan  - two rows, two octaves in C.  It is of
>> course all blow and takes a lot of air to shift those long reeds at
>> the low end.  Not much cutting power, so you need to be amplified in
>> anything but the smallest, quietest of rooms, and you have to use a
>> mic on a stand.  The layout is pretty easy to get the hang of - like a
>> piano keyboard with the white keys on the bottom row and the black
>> (plus fillers) on the top row.
>> &gt;
>> &gt; The Swan is not the sturdiest of Basses (its OK), but it is
>> significantly less expensive than the Hohners or Suzukis and does a
>> reasonable job (or a very good job on a 'bangs for the buck' basis).
>> &gt;
>> &gt; But there is another option......
>> &gt;
>> &gt; The Digitech RP series of effects pedals have a great two octave
>> step down and that lets you play bass lines with a normal diatonic.  A
>> new RP355 and Richard Hunter's patch set for harmonica will cost less
>> than a Hohner Bass and open a whole new world of harp effects.  I've
>> got a slightly older RP350, but it makes some great bass noises.  I
>> use 4 x 8&quot; bass quad boxes as the speaker(s) for my PAs, so
>> either the mono (35w) or stereo (200w/side) PAs make bass (and harp)
>> via the RP sound good.
>> &gt;
>> &gt; Not sure if the Harmonicats would freak at the thought of 'bass
>> by effects' (George Miklas may be reading this!) and it certainly
>> lacks the visual impact of a Bass harp, but the RP355 would be my
>> recommendation, if only because making a diatonic into a bass is one
>> of the myriad of clever things it can do.
>> &gt;
>> &gt; Richard Hunter knows much more about this than me and I'd
>> recommend seeking him out if you're interested in the RP option
>> &gt;
>> &gt; Cheers
>> &gt; Maka
>> &gt;
>> &gt;
>> &gt;
>>
>
> Filip Jers
>
>
> www.filipjers.com
>
> phone: 0046 768 08 25 50
> filip.jers@xxxxxxxxx
>
> www.myspace.com/filipjers
>
>
>
>